The Samsung Unified Linux Driver Repository

This site provides an apt (.deb) repository for installing the Samsung Unified Linux Driver in a more user-friendly and less problematic way than downloading and installing directly from the Samsung website or using the installer that ships with printers. I simply repackage the drivers that Samsung provides for free, and am not involved in any way with development of them. The drivers are binary-only (no source code provided), and are only available for the Intel/AMD 32- and 64-bit platforms with limited ARM support (Android, Raspberry Pi, etc. only if "soft-float").

News

29 November 2014

Release of packages for the 1.00.27 (August) and 1.00.29 (November) drivers. These appear to be very similar to the 1.00.21 driver, but there are subtle (and entirely untested by me) differences. I also resolved some issues with the 1.00.21 for a small number of printers impacted by the binary changes from 1.00.06 to 1.00.21; Samsung also fixed this issue with the 1.00.27 release.

4 May 2014

Release of packages for the new 1.00.21 driver. This is a minor update to the 1.00.06 series (see below) that adds support for a few additional printers, but also seems to change some of the binaries significantly. I have no idea if it is actually an improvement.

6 October 2013

Release of packages for the new 1.00.06 driver. These packages are marked as "driver2" to address the confusion associated with Samsung re-starting their version numbering. These packages should be treated as experimental at this stage - they have had precisely zero in-house testing, because I do not have a system to do more than ensure they install. The Configurator is no longer shipped by Samsung, and is not compatible with this version. So anyone who regularly uses the Configurator should not upgrade. Parallel port support has also been removed, and support for a few printers (beyond those already dropped in 4.01.17) was removed. The latest printers released from Samsung are supported by this driver. There is also limited support for the arm architecture. Specifically, the armel/soft float architecture. The arm drivers do not yet work with armhf/hard float. The new drivers work quite differently, and I will be updating the support content on this site as time allows to reflect the changes. As usual, post to the forums to share any experiences.

Note that the 1.00.06 driver installer from Samsung seems to work fine, and there is currently no seriously compelling reasons to use this repository instead of Samsung's installer (unless you want an alternate driver version or an easy install/uninstall system).

15 May 2013

Addition of the suld-scantopc and suld-scantopc-gui packages for enabling the push-to-scan feature of at least some Samsung multifunction printers. Consider these packages experimental, and share any issues in this thread.

I have also completed a migration to a new web host, without any apparent major issues. But do let me know through the forums if something seems broken.

3 May 2013

Major website update and repository overhaul, as well as release of packages for the 4.01.17 driver. In particular, note that many packages (especially packages related to scanning) have been incorporated directly into the driver package, simplifying installation. Click here if more information is needed on changes to the repository. Also new is a list of printers supported by different driver versions.

29 September 2012

10 June 2012

I have just launched new forums on this website to provide a mechanism to ask for help, provide feedback, etc. These will gradually replace the original Ubuntu Forums thread on this topic that was started way back in January 2007. (Update 27 May: the Ubuntuforums thread is now closed.) When you register, you will be asked to report a Linux version and printer type; this is to simplify my responses to threads, so I can at-a-glance remember the parameters for someone I am replying to.

Setting Up the Repository

If you performed any installations of the Unified Linux Driver performed using the Samsung installer, these must be completely removed before using the .debs in this repository. See the uninstallation information for your version of the driver.

Do one of the following to enable the repository (all are equivalent).

IMPORTANT: The distribution and section must be entered exactly as above. Do not substitute the name of your own distribution, translate the words, or use a default section - it won't work. I get hundreds of errors on the server each day from people who replace one or more of the terms above (especially Ubuntu users using the code name of their particular release).

Install the GPG key (last update: 18 Oct 2009) for the repository (if you skip this step, you will get warnings about installing unauthenticated packages), using one of the following methods.

Download the key file and add it to your graphical package manager list of keys.

Download the key file and execute the following (as root) in a terminal, in the folder with the key file:
apt-key add suldr.gpg
Or if you are using sudo:
sudo apt-key add suldr.gpg

Refresh your repository listings:

On a terminal (as root):
apt-get update
Or if using sudo:
sudo apt-get update

Or in a graphical manager, click the reload or refresh button.

The suld-* packages should now appear in your list of available packages to install.

Selecting Packages to Install

This is a quick guide to get most people up and running. If you need additional information, look at the question pages linked at the top of this page or the repository information. Note to long-time users or those following older forum posts about packages: the samsungmfp-* packages have been replaced by suld-* and are somewhat simplified. Although they will still appear in the package list, they simply depend on the new packages to enforce the transition.

To install the driver for printing and scanning (if your printer has a scanner), select one of the suld-driver-* packages to install. Chances are that the suld-driver-4.00.39 package will work for you. The latest releases are suld-driver-4.01.17, which drops support for some printers but includes support for the new Xpress line, and suld-driver2-1.00.06, which adds arm support and a few additional printers but is not compatible with most of the other packages. Check the list of supported printers if the driver does not seem to be working for you. Regardless of the particular package installed, you will then need to set up the printer using any printer management tool (the default one in your distribution, the CUPS web interface, or the Samsung Configurator).

If you want to use Samsung's graphical interface for managing the printer/scanner (instead of the default printer and scanner management tools in your distribution), you can install one of the suld-configurator-* packages. (If using the driver2 packages, the Configurator is not available, and you will have to use a distribution tool.) Most people will probably want suld-configurator-2-qt4. However, if you want the slpr print interface or you want/need the Qt3 version, select the alternate appropriate version.

If you want to use the slpr print interface, which intercepts print jobs and prompts you for additional print controls, install the suld-slpr package. Note, however, that this requires installing either suld-configurator-1-qt4 or suld-configurator-1-qt3, because the newer Configurator versions do not include this utility.

If you have an old printer connected via a parallel port, you will need to install suld-parallel. Do not install this package if your printer is connected via USB or a network connection.

The suld-printer-pdf-fix and suld-scanner-usblp-fix packages are possible workarounds if you encounter difficulties printing pdf files or connecting to the scanner function of your printer when using a USB cable, respectively. Only install these after encountering problems, as they may also cause other problems if they are not needed.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the many users, both in the original Ubuntu Forums thread and the current forums, who have provided feedback and helped with testing over the years. I don't even know how many are still using this driver, but thanks to all of you. Particular users who have contributed solutions that I've incorporated into the repository packages or alternative solutions include hokiejp (eglibc 64-bit solution, for network scanning); gaboro (eglibc 32-bit solution testing for the same problem); Rodolfo Medina (ppd-only solution guide); tapanit (work-around for scanning across complex networks); n3ck and ezekiel_quacks (USB scanning work-around solutions); rlar (network scanning broadcast solution); vyvee (usblp fix); b1b1 (pdf to ps printing problems fix). Some of the solutions described in these web pages come from these individuals and may point to their original posts, but even those who solved problems that are now irrelevant have my thanks. More recently, angelnu and totally-king have developed the scripts in the suld-scantopc packages.